Archive for January 20th, 2007
Depth Charge
As I slipped back into the bathroom, my attention was first drawn to J, as her and Evie played peekaboo round the glass screen that runs along the bath’s side. But even as I watched them, somewhere in my mind alarm bells were ringing. I looked at the other two. Both quietly were sitting in the tub, absorbed in using various toy boats to drink bathwater with… Drink. Bathwater. The alarm bells rang louder but I still didn’t heed them. Everything seemed fine. Everyone seemed happy. I shrugged.I was about to turn away and start a game of something when it hit me.
The bathwater was cloudy. That was what had been wrong. The bathwater they were drinking was cloudy and, in fact, when I looked closer, not only cloudy but, among the mass of floating plastic toys, there was other things floating in it, too. And they definitely weren’t made of plastic.
Depth Charge!
Even though it’s not uncommon for Evie to allow the relaxing bathtime environment to loosen her bowels, I’ve never snatched her sisters away quicker. Urgh!. Jem and Lettie drinking their sister’s poo-water beats even Jemima standing and weeing then scooping up the same water to drink, as happened a few weeks ago.
Having triplets – having any kids I suppose, but more intensely with triplets – is like an exercise in aversion therapy. Poo, wee, puke, being woken up, staying up all night, screaming, snot, saliva; it’s hard to remember being revolted by these things any more. Partly it’s just that we can become accostomed to anything with enough exposure, I guess, but also, with children, the disgust is tempered with love. Is it wrong to find your own children drinking poo-tainted bathwater amusing, endearing even?
They don’t care, and as long as they don’t get ill (fingers crossed), I guess I don’t either. It’s just another anecdote to store in the family archives until they start bringing boyfriends home.